


That's a lot of bagels

by frecklesarechocolate



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bagels, Castiel Whump, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fallen Castiel, Hurt Castiel, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 15:29:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1007042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklesarechocolate/pseuds/frecklesarechocolate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is human, and he breaks his leg. There's snuggling and not much else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That's a lot of bagels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plantainleaf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantainleaf/gifts).



> I started this back in June, finished it in August, and then [Lis](http://clotpoleofthelord.tumblr.com) found it and wondered why I hadn't posted it. So, here it is.

Cas's first hunt as a human is a disaster. And not in the "oops, that didn't go as planned, but it worked out okay in the end" kind of disaster. More like, "oh crap, we gotta go to the emergency room" kind.

Somehow, Cas got thrown into the wall not once, not even twice, but three times. After the third time, there was a sickening snap and he fell to the ground like a limp rag-doll.

Dean will never, ever, _ever_ get that sound out of his head.

So there they are, in the emergency room, waiting for Cas's x-rays. Dean's pretty convinced Cas broke his leg, but Sam wanted to be sure, and then he wanted to make sure that Cas got a good cast on his leg when it was all over.

So they trussed Cas up with a makeshift splint, eased him into the Impala and drove to the nearest emergency room. They were lucky that it had been a slow night in this part of Iowa, and didn't have to wait long. Dean spent most of the first twenty minutes they were there filling out the paperwork, hoping like hell that the hospital staff didn't see through the tissue of lies he was writing down. He also signed the "I acknowledge that the information provided on this form is all factual and true" line without so much as a twinge of guilt, figuring that they'd be back in the bunker by the time anyone bothered to check it out.

It's not like they were going to prosecute him for lying about Cas's closest relatives.

(Dean may have fudged a bit on that and listed himself as Cas's spouse, for visitation privileges only. Just in case.)

When the nurse comes out to take Cas back for his x-rays, she calls him by the name Dean had put on the form: "Mr. Winchester?" and it takes Cas more than a minute to respond to it. Dean gives her an apologetic look as he helps Cas up.

"Sorry, the pain's making him space out a bit," Dean says. She pats Cas on the shoulder in what Dean supposes is meant to be a kindly manner, but from where he was standing it looks a little condescending. Whatever. If it gets Cas what he needs to make him feel better, fine.

As Dean expected, the x-rays show that Cas has a fracture in his leg, and would have to wear a cast. When offered a variety of colors for the cast, he frowns down at the choices as if he'd never been confronted with such a thing before. (And okay, point.)

Cas looks at Dean and says, "Which one do I want, Dean?" Ignoring the smirk from the nurse, Dean contemplates the neon array before them, and then finally taps the blue one. What, it would go with Cas's eyes. The nurse looks to Cas for confirmation, and he nods.

It takes much longer to get the cast on Cas than Dean remembers from when he broke his own leg, but then he hadn't been awake for that part. Cas is taking it stoically, staring off into the middle distance like a Vulcan, jaw muscles only clenching a bit in pain. At one point, Cas grabs Dean's hand and squeezes really tightly, and Dean's reminded that, fallen though Cas may be, he is still much stronger than a human.

Dean leans over and murmurs, "Watch the hand, man. Don't want to have to get a cast myself." He says it quietly enough that only Cas can hear, and the nurse only gives Dean a fleeting smile, clearly thinking that Dean was offering Cas some comfort.

Cas doesn't respond other than to loosen the death grip he has on Dean's hand, and it's not long before the nurse is finished. They give Dean a prescription for morphine to help with the pain, and then they're free to go.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Sam has been off finding a motel for them to stay in for the night, so they can rest up and hit the road in the morning, which is just as well. They don't leave the emergency room until nearly 3:30am, and Cas is falling asleep on his crutches, and Dean's not far behind.

Sam meets them at the entryway to the emergency center and he takes them back to the motel, where he hands a set of keys to Dean. He walks in the opposite direction, leaving Dean standing in front of room 4C with a fallen angel leaning awkwardly on Dean's side.

"Sam!" Dean calls after his brother, but Sam just waves his hand (holding a different key) over his head. Sam disappears around the corner, leaving Cas and Dean alone in the hallway. Dean mutters unflattering things about his gigantor of a younger brother under his breath, but opens the door to the room and helps Cas inside.

Sam had at least gotten them a double room. Cas hobbles over to the bed closest to the door and plops down on it with a _**whoomph**_. He's so tired, his eyes are glazing over, and Dean thinks that might be partly because of the pain as well as the fact that they did just spend the day trailing after two incredibly mean-spirited (ha) ghosts.

Dean takes out the pain pills from the prescription he'd gotten filled at the hospital pharmacy. He's kind of reluctant to even give Cas the chance to try these out, memories of a future that still might potentially be still rearing their ugly head on occasion. However, Cas looks like he's in a lot of pain, and Dean doesn't want to leave Cas like that if he has the chance to lessen some of Cas's suffering.

"Cas, you want one of these pain killers?" Dean asks, holding up the bottle and shaking it.

Cas turns toward Dean slowly and tilts his head to the side. More than anything, it's this slow movement that convinces Dean that he needs the morphine. Dean doesn't wait for Cas to respond, and instead grabs a cup from the bathroom and fills it with water. He opens the bottle and shakes out one of the pills, noting that the prescription only gave him 10 pills anyway.

He hands the cup and the pill to Cas, tell him to drink up. Cas does so – again – slowly, and then hands the cup back to Dean. He looks up at Dean with a lost expression on his face, as if he doesn't quite know what to do next. Dean puts the cup on the nightstand and sits next to Cas on the edge of the bed.

"Whatcha need, Cas?"

Cas takes a long time to respond. "I think I need to sleep." He tilts his head again, and then nods. "Yes."

"Okay. Lift your arms up." Dean helps Cas take his shirt off, and, after some negotiation, out of his jeans as well. Dean does his best to ignore the fact that he's now standing over his half naked best friend and opts instead to concentrate on getting Cas in the bed and under the covers as quickly as possible.

Once Cas is situated in his own bed, Dean pulls away, but is stopped by Cas's hand grabbing onto the sleeve of his overshirt.

"Cas?" Dean asks.

"Stay," Cas mumbles, and the word is slightly slurred. The medicine must be kicking in.

"Uh, I'm just going to be over there in the other bed, Cas," Dean says, pointing to the other side of the room.

Cas plucks at Dean's sleeve, tugging on it. "No, here." He turns his head into the pillow and shuts his eyes. Dean steps away from the side of the bed, hoping that Cas has fallen asleep, but that's not the case, because Cas doesn't let go of Dean's sleeve.

"Ok Cas, sure. Just. I gotta brush my teeth and change. I'll be right back."

A small frown appears on Cas's face as he processes this. Then he says, "Okay," and lets go of Dean's sleeve.

While Dean's brushing his teeth, he considers just getting into the other bed, figuring that Cas has to have fallen asleep by now, but then decides against it. He promised.

So it's with a bit of trepidation that Dean gets onto the bed next to Cas. He briefly considers sleeping on top of the covers, but it's a chilly night, so he slides beneath them, making sure not to bump into Cas's leg. Cas murmurs something and turns toward Dean, burrowing his face into Dean's shoulder. Dean lies stock still for several long moments, barely breathing, but when he hears Cas's own breathing even out, he exhales slowly. He turns out the light and settles in for a long night awake.

He's hyper aware of Cas next to him, his warm breath blowing softly on his shoulder. Dean’s afraid to move lest he bump into Cas's leg, and he's afraid to breathe, not wanting to wake Cas. He’s also kind of afraid of why it was so easy to get into bed with his friend.

He wakes up a few hours later because he's incredibly warm – too warm. He also can't move, and he panics for a few minutes before realizes that he's being spooned. Cas has rolled over, and Dean has somehow insinuated himself into Cas's arms. The leg that's in a cast is poking into Dean's thigh a little painfully, but for the most part, aside from being really hot, he's comfortable. He doesn't look at this too hard, instead, he just shifts the covers off of their shoulders and drifts back to sleep.

* * *

 

"Dean."

"'m sleepin', Cas."

There's a sharp poking sensation in his side. "Dean. Wake up."

"Don' wanna."

Poke, poke, poke.

"Dean," Cas says again, and the tone has shifted to something a little more irritable. Dean opens one eye and shifts his head to peer at Cas, who sits partially upright next to him. They're still about an inch apart, definitely too close for "friends" and Dean suddenly realizes that he spent the whole night. In bed. With his best friend.

"Hey Cas," he says, his voice craggy with sleep. "Sleep all right?"

"Yes. I need your help though," he says, making a face.

"Sure, Cas, anything."

Cas points at the crutches, which Dean left leaning against the counter on the far wall. "I need my crutches to get up to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, shit Cas. Sorry man." Dean leaves the warm cocoon of the bed reluctantly and grabs the crutches. He hands them to Cas, who wriggles to the side of the bed awkwardly before he stands up. His balance is precarious, even with the crutches, and he shifts slightly to try to compensate. He squints at the bathroom door, and inhales as if preparing himself for a difficult challenge. Dean steps out of Cas's way and keeps an eye on his friend as he hobbles to the other side of the room.

Dean grabs yesterday's jeans from his duffle and puts them on while he waits for Cas to get out of the bathroom. There are a few heart-stopping moments when he hears one or both of the crutches tumble over with a clatter, followed by gravelly muttering and more than a few curses. Dean didn't realize that Cas _could_ curse, and he has to suppress a smile as he hears an angel of the Lord say, "Fuckdammit," through the door. He's schooled his features into something much more nonchalant by the time Cas comes out of the bathroom, his face still damp and his hair mopped over to the side.

"Everything good, Cas?" Dean asks, but it's the wrong thing to say.

"No, Dean, everything is _not_ good. My leg hurts, and these crutches are difficult to use, and that bathroom is tiny." Cas glares over his shoulder at the offending room, and then plops down on the second, unmade, unused bed. He sighs and wipes his face on the sleeve of his t-shirt. "I'm sorry, Dean. I don't like feeling like this."

Dean sits next to Cas, and he slings an arm around his friend's shoulder. "I get it, Cas. It sucks being hurt, and when you can't move around real easy, it's even worse. Tell you what. I'll go get us some donuts and coffee, you stay here and try to get comfortable."

"Thank you, Dean." He shifts slightly as if he's going to get up, but then thinks better of it and scoots onto the bed he's already sitting on. Dean changes his t-shirt and grabs a new over shirt.

"Oh.” Dean hesitates. “Do you need another pain pill? You said your leg hurts."

Cas shakes his head. "No, I think I'll be okay. I don't like the way it made me feel." Dean is secretly relieved to hear that, but he doesn't say anything. "Could you get bagels instead of donuts?" Cas asks.

"Sure, Cas. I'll get a bunch of different ones." Dean shuts the door behind him and taps lightly on Sam's door. Sam opens after a long moment, his hair sticking up in about five different directions.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty. I'm going to get coffee and bagels for me 'n Cas. You want anything?"

Sam grimaces. "Yeah, sure. You're awfully cheerful this morning."

Dean shrugs. "Nah. Just awake." He waves his hand over his shoulder and gets into the Impala. As he starts up the car, though, he realizes that he _is_ in a good mood today. Even though he was woken from a pretty deep sleep, he slept pretty well last night, for the first time in what's probably months. Thinking about why he's in a good mood takes Dean to the bagel shop, through the line and halfway back to the motel. By the time he's pulling into the parking lot in front of his and Cas's room, he thinks he has it figured out.

Dean hums a bit to himself as he unlocks the door and goes into the room he shares with Cas.

It looks like Cas hasn't moved much, although he did manage to dig out the remote control for the incredibly crappy tv, and he's frowning at the cheerful weatherman who is going on about a low pressure front that's on the move from the west. When Dean closes the door behind him, however, Cas hits the power button on the remote, shutting off the tv and the perky weatherman.

Dean hands over a cup of coffee to Cas, who takes the cup and holds it close to his nose. He closes his eyes as he inhales the aroma. "Hm. This smells good, Dean. Thank you."

Dean sets up the bagels and cream cheese spreads that he got at the store. He hadn't been sure what kind to get Cas, so he got all of the different varieties that the shop offered. There was the standard plain flavor, then lox, blueberry, strawberry, chives and vegetable. It was about the time that Dean was putting both the blueberry and strawberry flavored cream cheeses onto the counter in the bagel shop that Dean realized that the main reason he's happy is because Cas is _around_. Yeah, okay, Cas is human, and probably doesn't have much of a choice, but Cas is here, and he's sticking with them, at least for the time being. Dean squashes down the tiny voice that pipes up and says something about Cas leaving as soon as he gets his mojo back, because there's just no call for that kind of thinking.

"What are all these, Dean?" Cas says, waving at the cream cheese.

"Oh, well, I didn't know what you might want, so I got every flavor they had. And. Um. All the bagels too. They had a lot of different types."

Out of the bag comes sesame, poppy seed, onion, everything, pumpernickel, marble rye, blueberry, cinnamon raisin, plain, sun-dried tomato and chocolate chip. Dean got two of each of them, because he thought that a couple of them looked pretty good. What that means, though, is that there are actually 22 bagels for the three of them.

"Dean, who is going to eat all of this?" Cas asks after inspecting each kind of bagel.

Dean shrugs. "I'll probably have a couple. Oh, I need to let Sam know the food's here. Hang on." He hops up and goes next door. When he comes back, Cas has picked up one of the chocolate chip bagels and is spreading the blueberry cream cheese onto one half. Sam trails in after Dean, and bursts into laughter when he sees all the food that Dean got. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to notice that only one of the beds has been slept in, Dean thinks, as he hands Sam his coffee.

They each eat two of the bagels, and they try out all of the cream cheeses. Sam's favorite, of course, is the veggie cream cheese, while Cas likes the blueberry cream cheese. Dean surprises everyone by liking the lox cream cheese.

However, there are still sixteen bagels left, which Dean carefully returns to the bag. Sam goes back to his room to pack up, and Dean and Cas are left staring at each other.

"Cas, if you want, I can show you a couple of moves on those crutches," Dean says.

Cas says that he'd like that, and they lapse into a not completely awkward silence. To cover it up, Dean bounces to his feet and begins to pack stuff away in their duffels, since they really have to be getting back on the road at some point soon.

The drive back to the bunker is uneventful, thank goodness, and Cas manages to doze off and on throughout the trip. Dean helps Cas out of the car and into the bunker, settling him on the couch in the back of the library.

The rest of the evening is spent getting the usual after-travel chores finished, like laundry and unpacking. Dean gives Cas a few pointers on using the crutches, but by about 8:30 or so, Cas looks like he's about to fall asleep on the couch, so Dean tells him it's time to go to bed.

They're walking down the hallway towards Cas's room, just passing Dean's when Cas stops hobbling. "Cas?" Dean asks.

Cas opens his mouth to say something, but then snaps it shut almost immediately. He tries again, and is eventually able to get out, "Do you think I could sleep with you again?" His cheeks color as he asks, and Dean can't help but smile.

"Um, sure Cas. Come on," Dean says, leading the way into his room. They get dressed in sleep pants and t-shirts, Cas leaning on Dean for support when it comes to pulling the pants on, and then they stand awkwardly on either side of Dean's bed. Dean stares down at his lone pillow for a moment, before realizing that it's just the one pillow.

"Hey, Cas, why don't you get comfy, and I'll go find you a pillow, okay?" Dean says, but he's out of the room and down the hallway before he can hear Cas's response. When he returns with the pillow from Cas's room, Cas is already lying in the bed, his arms held stiffly at his side, head on the mattress. Dean hides his smile and hands Cas the pillow. He gets in on the other side of the bed and turns out the light. Cas lies next to Dean, his arms locked against his body, and Dean, too, rests on his back, facing the ceiling. It's uncomfortable and awkward, and after several long moments, Dean huffs a sigh.

He sits up and looks at Cas before saying, "This is ridiculous. Come on Cas, scoot over." Cas gives him a funny look before complying, sliding a little bit closer to Dean. Dean turns Cas over, pulling his friend back towards his own chest, and then lies down himself, his arms around Cas's waist. He can tell the minute Cas relaxes, and he hears Cas sigh softly.

"This is nice, Dean," Cas says in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, Cas, it really is. Now go to sleep, okay?"

Cas nods his head sleepily. "Good night, Dean."

Dean can't help himself as he presses a soft kiss to the back of Cas's neck. "Night Cas."


End file.
